This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis covers startups, tech, markets, media, and all the hottest topics in business and technology. He also interviews the world’s greatest founders, operators, investors, and innovators.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 27, 2021 • 26min
Emergency Pod! Tether executives facing DOJ bank fraud probe (via Bloomberg) | E1253
Tether executives are reportedly facing a DOJ criminal probe for bank fraud! Jason breaks down Bloomberg's report (1:31), Tether's response (10:34) and assesses potential implications for the wider crypto ecosystem, including if this had anything to do with Sunday night's Bitcoin surge. (16:29)
Jul 23, 2021 • 1h 9min
Dfinity’s ICP crypto complaint, Snap/Twitter earnings, China’s e-learning crackdown & more | E1252
In this rapid fire news episode, Jason covers a16z-backed Dfinity's crypto class action complaint (02:46), Snapchat and Twitter's massive earnings (19:33), the CCP considering turning it's ed-tech sector non-profit (34:15), Alphabet's new company (40:23), San Francisco's 17M sq. ft. of vacant office space (47:22), and then reflects on some old Disney+ predictions (58:28).
Jul 22, 2021 • 1h 12min
China punishes Didi, Twitter’s new feature, UAE makes it rain + Do Kwon of Terraform Labs | E1251
Jason covers China's increasing penalties for Didi (2:52), Twitter's test of a downvote feature (12:13), and how the UAE was able to induce rain with electricity (17:32). Then Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform labs joins (22:38) to discuss his stable coin project TerraUSD (31:18), the underlying cryptocurrency LUNA, and shed light on Tether as crypto insider (59:56).
Jul 21, 2021 • 1h 27min
Reacting to Tether’s CNBC interview, Netflix earnings + Vincent’s Slava Rubin on alt assets | E1250
In the news segment, Jason reacts to the Tether CTO & General Counsel's interview on CNBC (2:22) and digs in to Netflix's latest earnings report (37:35).
Then, Vincent founder Slava Rubin joins to discuss all things alternative assets (44:26), his work founding Indiegogo, Launch’s investment, trading cards (1:17:19) & more.
Jul 21, 2021 • 1h 37min
Bezos goes to space, Robinhood IPO, USDC attestation + Flock Safety’s Garrett Langley | E1249
In news Jason covers Bezos reaching space (2:32), Robinhood's S-1/A (13:28), Circle's new USDC attestation (22:25), crypto crackdown in Asia (36:06), Zoom buying Five9 for almost $15B (46:00)
Keith Rabois' OpenStore (47:11). Then for our Next Unicorns series, Jason interviews Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langely, about reducing crime in American cities and neighborhoods (50:18).
Jul 16, 2021 • 51min
Rapid Fire News: AI voices after death, DOJ investigates Lordstown Motors, COVID adaptation | E1248
Jason covers Anthony Bourdain's amazing AI deepfake voice in "roadrunner" & potential startup ideas for the technology (01:49), the investigation into EV startup Lordstown Motors (12:27), and the way businesses are reacting to how COVID is being managed in FL & CA (42:11).
Jul 16, 2021 • 42min
Rapid Fire News: FB’s right-wing algo, Tether update, giving Cuba internet, Powell on stable coins & more | E1247
News episode, Jason covers CrowdTangle's data headache (01:56), how the White House wants to crack down on social media misinformation (13:34), Florida Gov. DeSantis proposal for providing internet to Cuba (17:17), a $1B fund for creators (21:32), our Tether investigation (25:07) & more!
Jul 15, 2021 • 55min
The Next Unicorns: Adena Hefets CEO of Divvy Homes, forging a new path to home ownership | E1246
To kick off this season of "The Next Unicorns," Adena Hefets, CEO of Divvy Homes, joins to discuss how they are helping Americans blaze a path to owning a home (2:51), if we are in a real estate bubble (25:37), the American home shortage (34:53) and more!
Jul 14, 2021 • 1h 38min
Education’s war on excellence, AWS atrophy, France fines Google + AppHarvest’s Josh Lessing | E1245
Jason covers the war on excellence in public education (2:05), signs of AWS maturity (19:04), France's $592M antitrust fine for Google (30:28). Then discusses AI Farms with AppHarvest CTO Josh Lessing (47:43) covering building with robots (1:16:03), improved crop yields (1:24:43), climate change & more.
Jul 13, 2021 • 51min
China cracks down on US IPOs, winning founder qualities, Ask Jason: accelerators, investing | E1244
Jason covers the CCP crackdown on Chinese tech companies listing in the US, shares how he spots winning founders (14:02), then answers Ask Jason questions: finding a technical co-founder (36:47), signals for startup success (39:29), advice for new angel investors (45:18), and more.
